Leicester Riders

Leicester Riders
Main sponsor Jelson Homes
De Montfort University
League British Basketball League
Established 1967
History Loughborough All-Stars
1967-1981
Leicester All-Stars
1981-1986
Leicester City Riders
1986-1997
Leicester Riders
1997-present
Arena John Sandford Centre
(Capacity: 800)
Location Leicester, Leicestershire
Head coach Rob Paternostro
Ownership PLC
Colours Black, Red and White
Website
LeicesterRiders.co.uk
Uniforms
Home
Away

The Leicester Riders, officially known as the Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders for sponsorship reasons, is a British professional basketball team that play in the British Basketball League (BBL). They are the oldest operating basketball team in the country, though recently they have hit hard times financially and faced liquidation several times during 2007 before fans and local businesses stepped in to save the club.

Contents

Franchise history

Founded on 26 April 1967 and then known as the Loughborough All Stars, the Leicester Riders are the oldest club in British basketball.

They were founder members of the National Basketball League in 1972 and the BBL in 1987.

The club moved from Loughborough to Leicester in 1981 before moving back to play at Loughborough University in 1997, barely a stone's throw from Victory Hall where the club played its first game.

In 2004 the Riders agreed a sponsorship deal with De Montfort University (DMU) and moved back to Leicester where they now play their games at the DMU's John Sandford Sports Centre.

In February 2007, the Riders encountered several financial difficulties, which resulted in the team's players and coaches not being paid. Facing the prospect of liquidation half way through the 2006-2007 season, former director of the team, Mike Steptoe, and the supporters club formed a consortium which raised funded enough money to keep the side running.

The clubs future was looking brighter, however, during the close-season following the loss of a major cash-injection, the club were again thrown into financial chaos in August 2007. Given only three weeks to raise the necessary funds to compete for the upcoming 2007-08 season, fans of the club and local business Jelson Homes came together to save the club once again. [1]

Part of the sponsorship deal with Jelson Homes was to ensure the future of the club by investing in a 'basketball in the community' scheme, providing the youth of Leicester with basketball coaching programmes.

Home arenas

Victory Hall (1967-1981)
Granby Halls (1981-2000)
Loughborough University (2000-2004)
John Sandford Centre (2004-present)

Season-by-season records

Season Div. Pos. Pld. W L Pts. Play Offs Trophy Cup
Loughborough All-Stars
1972–1973 NBL 4th 10 5 5 15 N/A N/A 1st Round
1973–1974 NBL 6th 14 5 9 19 N/A N/A Semi-final
1974–1975 NBL 7th 18 8 10 26 N/A N/A Semi-final
1975–1976 NBL 1 6th 18 6 12 24 N/A N/A Quarter-final
1976–1977 NBL 1 6th 18 8 10 26 N/A N/A Quarter-final
1977–1978 NBL 1 5th 18 9 9 18 N/A N/A Quarter-final
1978–1979 NBL 1 6th 20 10 10 18 DNQ N/A Quarter-final
1979–1980 NBL 1 6th 20 10 10 18 DNQ N/A Semi-final
1980–1981 Hiatus - - - - - - - -
Leicester All-Stars
1981–1982 NBL 2 1st 16 16 0 32 DNQ N/A -
1982–1983 NBL 1 6th 24 16 8 32 DNQ N/A -
1983–1984 NBL 1 6th 36 23 13 45 DNQ N/A -
1984–1985 NBL 1 6th 26 15 11 30 Semi-final N/A -
1985–1986 NBL 1 8th 28 14 14 28 - N/A -
Leicester City Riders
1986–1987 NBL 1 5th 24 16 8 32 - N/A -
1987–1988 BBL 9th 28 14 14 28 DNQ 1st Round Semi-final
1988–1989 BBL 4h 20 14 6 28 Semi-final Semi-final 2nd Round
1989–1990 BBL 6th 28 7 21 14 DNQ 1st Round 2nd Round
1990–1991 BBL 4th 24 14 10 28 Semi-final Semi-final Runner-up
1991–1992 BBL 6th 30 14 16 28 Quarter-final Runner-up Semi-final
1992–1993 BBL 8th 33 12 21 24 Quarter-final Semi-final Semi-final
1993–1994 BBL 7th 36 20 16 40 Quarter-final Semi-final Quarter-final
1994–1995 BBL 11th 36 8 28 16 DNQ 1st Round Quarter-final
1995–1996 BBL 9th 36 11 25 22 DNQ 1st Round 4th Round
1996–1997 BBL 8th 36 15 21 30 Quarter-final Semi-final Quarter-final
Leicester Riders
1997–1998 BBL 9th 36 15 21 30 DNQ Quarter-final Runner-up
1998–1999 BBL 12th 36 9 27 18 DNQ Semi-final 1st Round
1999–2000 BBL N 7th 36 10 26 20 DNQ 1st Round Quarter-final
2000–2001 BBL N 4th 36 17 19 34 Winners 1st Round Winners
2001–2002 BBL N 5th 32 11 21 22 DNQ 1st Round 1st Round
2002–2003 BBL 11th 40 3 37 6 DNQ 1st Round 1st Round
2003–2004 BBL 9th 36 5 31 10 DNQ 1st Round Quarter Final
2004–2005 BBL 10th 40 11 29 22 DNQ 1st Round 1st Round
2005–2006 BBL 6th 40 18 22 36 Quarter-final Runner-up 1st Round
2006–2007 BBL 7th 36 13 23 22 Quarter-final Semi-final Quarter-final
2007–2008 BBL 10th 33 10 23 20 DNQ 1st Round Quarter-final
2008–2009 BBL 3rd 33 21 12 42 Semi-final 1st Round Quarter-final
2009–2010 BBL 6th 36 21 15 42 Quarter-final 1st Round Semi-final
2010–2011 BBL 8th 33 17 16 34 Quarter-final Semi-final Quarter-final

Notes:

Players

Current roster

The following information is established according to the official websites of the team (www.leicesterriders.co.uk) and Britain's top professional league, the BBL (www.bbl.org.uk).

Players Coaches
?
Pos. # Nat. Name Ht.
G 4 Põld, Remy 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)
G 5 Rundles, Cameron 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
G 6 Boyd, Flinder 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
F 7 Sherlock, Tom 2.04 m (6 ft 8 in)
F 8 Sullivan, Andrew 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in)
F 10 Hardy, Ayron 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)
F 12 Anderson, Jamell 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in)
G 13 Wierzbicki, Bradd 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
C 15 Lamble, Barry 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in)
F 40 Royster, Brett 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in)
G  ?? Haggith, Reece 1. m (3 ft 3 in)
Head coach
  • Rob Paternostro
Assistant coach(es)
  • Philip Gleadall
  • LaTaryl Williams
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Injured

Roster • updated 01-01-2011

Notable former players

External links